A Walk Around the Farm

by Michael

In mostly black & white

*Note: Clicking on any image will open that image in a new window, full size.

*Note 2: I don’t normally do black & white photography, but today’s weather just seemed to beg for that treatment.

Since the first of the year the weather here in East Texas has been anything but cheery. In fact, it has been downright drab and depressing. I made a promise to myself that I was going to break that chain, and even if the weather wasn’t beautiful, I was going to get outside if for no other reason than to get some exercise.

So, I log out of work a couple of hours early, clearing with my boss to log a couple of hours of vacation time of course, and head outside. Sure enough, it is still dreary and even a little misty. I grab my trusty Canon 1DX-II body, 70-200mm lens, and head outside…after bundling up a bit that is. After all, it’s not even 60 degrees out there, and I live in Texas. LOL

As I began my walk, the first thing I noticed was how moist the air was. I was thankful for the weather sealing that Canon has provided for my camera and lens. At least I don’t have to worry about my equipment.

The first place I go is the creek that borders my property. I have had quite a bit of erosion over the past few years due to flash-floods and I wanted to make sure that everything is still holding.

Convergence

Things seem to be holding, at least for now. Who knows what will happen when the spring rains come this year?

Climbing up out of the creek, I see a fallen log which has a fungus growing on it. Life passes, and gives life. The circle of life in nature.

Where the Fungus Grows

As I walk around the property, I check on my bluebird boxes and clean them out for the coming year. It looks like 4 of the 7 boxes had a happy nest in them this past year. That explains all the bluebirds I noticed all summer long. I hope even more will be used this year.

And speaking of critters that live in holes, I stop and ponder for a moment who has been taking up residence in this old tree. Perhaps someday I will find out.

Someone’s Home

I continue walking past the boundary of my property and into my neighbor’s forest. He allows me excursions into the woods with my cameras. It’s great to have friendly Texas neighbors.

Living in East Texas, it is not uncommon to find relics of the oil boom that took place here many years ago. In fact, not far from my property is the location of the Daisy-Bradford #3 well which began the boom here in East Texas. This abandoned pipeline has been lost back to nature.

Lost to Nature

Looking through the brush shows the gauge that used to measure the pressure of the valuable substance flowing through the pipes, now dormant, sitting peacefully at zero.

Measuring Zero

Continuing my trek on this drab and dismal day, a single bit of color catches my eye. The pine trees have provided a carpet for the forest floor, and some other tree has provided a pop of color. This helps me remember that even on a day like today there are still things for which to be thankful to almighty God.

A bit farther I come to the power line easement that crosses so many properties. As I look down the line I can see the mist which is starting to roll in across the pasture. I’m strangely overcome with a sense of peace at the scene.

Mist Across the Pasture

As I’m walking I realize that for the first time in several months, I’m outside and active, breathing the fresh air and making my body move. It feels good. I’ve been so tired of being tired all the time, and it’s no one’s fault but my own.

I come to a small pond of water that was uncovered during the recent tree harvest on my neighbor’s property. I sit down on a stump to rest and to just listen. Hoping to hear the sounds of nature, all I really hear is silence, which is very calming. It seems I wasn’t the only one affected by this weather. All the critters appear to be hunkered down.

Then I notice the branches of a small pine tree which had fallen near the pond with the little seeds of life still clinging to the branches. Once more, death giving way to new life.

Seeds of Life

As I head back to my own property I notice a lone, crooked tree standing in a field where all the others had been harvested. For some strange reason it made me think about how it felt to be the one left out when teams were being picked in grade school. This poor guy didn’t get picked. But in this case being picked meant going to the lumber mill, not a sports team. I wonder if it knows how lucky it was for being so malformed? I wonder if it will green up again in the spring? Or is this just another example of the cycle.

Last to be Picked

From here I head back and finish checking the bluebird houses on my own property. Now they are all nice and clean for the next generation of bluebirds this spring.

Now, what can I do next to get myself off the couch, my body moving, and shoot with my camera? We’ll see.

Until next time,
Michael

FYI: The tree harvesting on my neighbors’ property will enter the next phase this year with planting of new trees. Once more, the cycle of life in nature, of a renewable resource.

All words and photos copyright 2020 MHampton Photography
Equipment used: Canon 1DX II and Canon 70-200IS/USM/L lens

My Afternoon With A Redhead

by Michael

Okay, so, don’t tell my wife, but I played hooky from work this afternoon because a certain redhead has caught my eye and I wanted to get to know them better.

So, how’s that for a click-bait opening paragraph! Of course, the redhead I am talking about is a bird. Recently my neighbor (here in the country) had their timber harvested, which leaves a lot of open fields. We have an open-gate policy between us and he lets me roam around looking at/for wildlife.

A while back I noticed a single dead tree trunk that appeared to have several holes in it. And then I caught a flash or red fly out of one of those holes. I promised I would return with my camera and now I have.

Approaching the tree, I thought I could see someone deep inside one of the holes, but I wasn’t sure. Looking at the back of my camera and zooming all the way in, I was sure someone was in there.

Is anyone home?

So I pulled up closer with my 4-wheeler, shut off the engine, and settled in for a bit. The weather has turned off chilly here in East Texas recently, but I was prepared with a warm jacket. Even though the sun was shining, the wind was whipping around so I was thankful I had it with me.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long until the red of the red-headed woodpecker popped out to see what I was doing.

Well, hello there.

I was parked probably about 30 years away from the tree, and this hole was probably about 30 yards up from the ground. I was already wishing I had brought my 600mm lens with me. This trip, the 400mm will have to do.

After sitting there checking me out for a few minutes, the bird became comfortable enough with my presence to come out and do a little drumming on the tree. It really made this old hollowed out tree echo across the fields.

Let me play for you the rhythm of my people on this tree trunk.

Seeing that I was no threat it continued circling the tree looking for whatever bugs it could find, stopping occasionally to drum away.

Are you still back there watching me?

After watching the performance for a while, I decided it was time to back on out and leave my new friend to its business. As I started the 4-wheeler, the bird dutifully stood watch on a dead branch, watching me drive away.

Since it had been a while since I originally saw this nest, I wasn’t sure if it would still be there. I’m pleased to know that it is.

Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Looking the red-headed woodpecker up in my iBird app, I leaned that it is a year-round resident of these parts. I will definatley be returning soon with the big lens to get some more intimate shots. Also, who knows if it is living alone in that big tree.

Until next time, you beautiful redhead!

A Trip to Northern Idaho – Part 8

by Michael

Our last day of adventure in Idaho started out as another chilly and wet morning. Wanting to give a new place a try, Karen and I started out on the river bank behind the University of Idaho, Coeur d’Alene. It was also windy. There were a lot of little chicks there and these two appear to be siblings, with one giving the other what-for.

I’m going to tell mom!

After not much going on there we headed back to the hotel to warm up a bit before heading over to pick up Janice. Out the window I happened to notice a magpie. I’ve been hunting for one of these the entire trip. They are like the common grackle here in Texas, usually everywhere, until you want to get a photo of one. This was the best I could do, through the dirty glass of my hotel window, but I can say I got one.

Magpie through a window

We headed north once more, looking for anything interesting. We headed up towards Newport and then over to Priest River. By then it was time for lunch. We stopped at a place called the Village Kitchen. Now, I had been craving an old-fashioned open-faced roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy for some time and the first thing I noticed on the menu was just that. I was all in. The guy running the place looked more like a surfer from California than an Idaho mountain dude, but he was nice, and his jokes were great. Lunch came, and the food was excellent!

I’m glad we tipped well here!

As we were leaving I asked the guy if he knew of any cool waterfalls in the area. He gave me directions to some up around Priest Lake so we headed off in that direction. I found it on the map and plugged it into my GPS. We drove for a while, beautiful country, but when we got there we found the road blocked off with no idea how far it was to the actual waterfalls. I listened but did not hear the sound of rushing water anywhere.

We left, with me debating in my mind if we left without giving the place a fair shot but when we stopped for gas, I did some more quick googling and found that were were other falls not too far from where we were. We continued on and without seeing any signs, ended up on an old dirt forestry service road. After a few miles of my traveling companions questioning my sanity and directional ability, we arrived at a sign indicating the Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars. The average age of the trees here is 800 years with some being 2000-3000 years old! Imaging being among living trees that were around while Jesus walked the earth!

Also at this place is Granite Falls. Another beautiful set of waterfalls for us to explore and photograph. Karen captured this of me while I was setting up for my first set of photos of the falls.

The intrepid photographer

As you can see from this photograph, the water from these falls are blasting down the mountain. No way I’m getting in those waters, but the rocks are slippery. I’m glad my shoes had good grips on the soles.

Granite Falls – Lower

Once again, while I was looking at the big picture, Karen was able to filter out the noise and notice the small beauty in the place. I really need to take a lesson from her on how to slow down and notice things.

Small beauty

After my initial shots I moved back to get more of the river that flows from the falls. I was able to carefully move out a little into the rocks in the river, but again was being very careful not to slip and get washed away.

Roaring river

And of course, we were finally in a spot were we could actually stand in some snow. After traveling all the way from Texas to see snow, we weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to stand in it and take a photo!

As we were leaving I noticed a sign pointing to another set of falls, but our time for this trip was up. As we arrived back at the blacktop, Karen had me stop so she could take a photo of the road lined with these huge trees. This is our path back home and our good-bye, at least for now, to Idaho.

It was a beautiful trip. Got to spend some quality time with our friend Janice, and got to see and photograph some beautiful scenery. I hope you enjoyed tagging along with us, even if this these posts come 3 months later. Maybe they provided some relief from the heat we are enduring right now here in Texas.

Until the next adventure,

Michael
Sharing God’s Creation, One Click at a Time

All words and photos copyright 2019 MHampton Photography
Equipment used: Canon 5DS-R, Canon 1DX II, Canon T6S, and various Canon lenses and Insta360 One X